Living with nautical maritime antiques, original marine art and quality nautical decor, ship salvage and other authentic nautical cargo, re-purposed nautical table lamps and lighting, furniture and decor designed for your traditional coastal home and featuring the finest of nautical and coastal living.

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Looking for the right nautical belt? Well here's a selection of some of our new and all time favorite seriously sea-worthy nautical inspired belts that will certainly satisfy even the saltiest of tastes!

Skipjack's sailor macrame nautical belts are available in a variety of colors

The Skipjack collection of nautical belts is perfect look to wear with your favorite jeans, khakis, or corduroys. This timeless classic cotton web ribbon belt for all seasons has full grain drum-dyed leather billet and buckle ends accentuated by the solid brass buckle. Also available with solid brass or nickel-plated solid brass “D” Rings. Check out our full line of Skipjack's nautical wears and boating apparel at: Skipjack Nautical Wears

Skipjack's sailor macrame braided web nautical belt in natural line (pictured above and below) is available in five different colors, each created with full grain leather belt ends and solid brass buckles. A great nautical look for men, women and children too.Skipjack's sailor macrame nautical belt

We're all about schooners here at Skipjack representing both the "Schooner Virginia" and the schooner "Spirit of Independence." Check out our blog "Schooner Racing on the bay" at http://racingthebay.blogspot.com/ and see the world's largest gathering of schooners each October right here in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia. Go to: http://schoonerdays.blogspot.com/

The Skipjack Schooner nautical belt for men and women.

We stock sizes 32 to 46 at our riverfront store here in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia. Smaller sizes starting at 20 and sizes larger than 46 are available too. Expect up to two weeks upon order for receipt.

On Thursday November 4, 2010 the unique and majestic 96-year old Norwegian tall sailing ship "HNoMS Statsraad Lehmkuhl" is scheduled to arrive in Downtown Norfolk at 9 am, docking at Otter Berth next to Waterside. The ship will depart on Friday, November 5, 2010.

On Thursday November 4, 2010 the unique and majestic 96-year old Norwegian tall sailing ship "HNoMS Statsraad Lehmkuhl" is scheduled to arrive in Downtown Norfolk.

Arrival will be immediately followed at 9:30 am with a dockside public welcome ceremony. The public is invited to tour the ship on Friday, November 5, from noon - 4pm; school groups can reserve a private tour from 10 am - noon.

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is sailed by the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy's first year officer cadets, who are participating in leadership training and team building during the trip. The cadets also get a strong foundation of basic seamanship during their weeks onboard. Stripped of modern communication technology, the students are forced to work together to overcome the timeless challenges and dangers of travelling the seas by sail. Statsraad Lehmkuhl has been part of the basic training program since 2002, whereby the Royal Norwegian Navy leases the ship for several months every year. Norfolk has become a favorite port of call for the ship and her crew; this will be the 6th consecutive year that the ship has called on Norfolk as part of their sail-training schedule. The port visit is sponsored by Norfolk Festevents, Ltd.

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is sailed by the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy's first year officer cadets, who are participating in leadership training and team building during the trip

The City of Norfolk and her community leaders will officially welcome the HNoMS Statsraad Lehmkuhl on Thursday, November 4 with a flag-raising and dockside ceremony scheduled to take place at Otter Berth in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Lake Taylor High School's NJROTC Color Guard will carry out the flag-raising ceremony beginning at 9:30 am.

School Tour Schedule: Friday, November 5, 2010, 10 am - noon. Please contact Hank Moseley with Festevents, at 757-441-2345 ext.3019 or moseleyh@festevents.org for more information and to arrange for school tours. Schools must provide their own transportation to and from Otter Berth. Ship tours are FREE.

Public Visitation Schedule: Friday, November 5, 2010, Noon - 4 pm. Ship tours are FREE and open to the public from Noon - 4 pm only.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Debbi Holmes recently accomplished a dream she had since high school; she wrote and published a book called Unforeseen Circumstances. The book has turned non-readers into readers and has left avid readers’ wanting more.

Debbi Holmes will be signing her book Unforseen Circumstances at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery

Inspiration for the BookInspiration can come in many forms and can be different for many people. For Debbi, the inspiration came last year when she was struggling to find a good book to read with a mixture of romance, suspense and action. Her husband joking said, “Why don’t you write your own?” Debbi stated, “I don’t think he thought I would follow through on that comment!” Debbi eagerly got to work writing her book. The storyline needed to have all the components she was looking for: romance, suspense and action. The idea came from stories she heard from “transients” that visit the dock, where she lives on her boat, about pirates in the Caribbean. She also had her nephew as a resource, who is in the Coast Guard, to provide stories about pirates coasting the Caribbean waters. She states, “I live on a boat so some of the experiences the characters have are interwoven from both my own experiences and fantasy.” She had a co-worker read the book to get her opinion and see if was worth taking the time and expense to publish it. After her friend raved about the storyline and characters and encouraged her to follow through, Debbi began researching what it took to publish a book.

Patience is a VirtueThe good ole statement, “Rome was not built in a day”, is rule of thumb to keep in mind when writing and publishing a book. It takes both time and dedication to go through the process. Since she is a full time manager, the book was written at night and most weekends. “My husband found me disappearing from enjoying friends out on the dock, to being holed up in the bedroom, writing”, she states. Writing the story, for her, was the easiest part. She was able to finish the story in 3 months. Then it was time to design the cover, edit, and publish the book.The cover was Debbi’s idea. She wanted to design a cover that would catch an individuals’ eye who is scanning the shelf for an interesting book to read. She utilized a photographer based on a referral and her daughter as the model. After 6 hours and over 80 different photo shots, she finally found the one that she imagined. The road for editing was a little bumpy. She paid a student, who was working on their Masters in editing, to do the original editing. She didn’t think to go behind them to re-read the whole book. It went to the publishers and the first edition went out for people to buy. Luckily, only friends and family purchased the first edition and informed Debbi of misspellings, punctuation errors, and missing words. She immediately pulled it back out of print and had it re-edited by three different friends as well as going over the book herself an additional 2 times. “I have learned patience through this process and that has been the hardest thing for me”, she states. The second edition was completed and the book went back to printers. It is now available for purchase.

Upcoming ProjectsDebbi is not finished pursuing her dream. She is currently marketing her first book and has a few book signings lined up. She is half way through the sequel to the first book, which many are anxiously awaiting. She also has 2 other ideas for books that are going to be a completely different story line from the first two. She wants to maintain the theme of boats and water in all of her books, making it her signature style.Comments from FansI had the privilege of reading Debbi’s book, which I must say was simply amazing. I was so engrossed in the story line that I could barely put the book down. She did provide a little snip-it of the sequel in the back of the book and I choose not to read it because I wanted to be completely surprised. I, like many others, are eagerly waiting for the sequel to be finished.“When I heard that Debbi had written a book, I went online that evening and purchased it. Just a few days later, I brought it to work and had Debbi sign it. I was very excited for her and showed the book to everyone I saw that day. I have to say, I really enjoyed reading Unforeseen Circumstances. The early references to local landmarks sparked my interest in the beginning. As I read on, I noticed that Debbi's descriptive story telling really made you feel as if you were right there with the characters. This book had a little bit of everything, Romance, Suspense and Action. There were times; I just couldn't put the book down. I am looking forward to the sequel.” By: Sharon Hughes“The story is so intriguing; I immediately got immersed in the characters lives.Debbi has such great way of making the reader feel that they are a part of the story. She's also a very descriptive writer. When she talks about the beaches and some of the downtown Portsmouth landmarks, I can completely envision myself there! By: Michelle GarrettFor more information on the book and Debbi please visit www.debbiannholmes.com.You can also purchase Unforseen Circumstances at Skipjack's web store: Click here!Written by Shannon Dickson.

NEW! JUST IN! OUR LATEST ARRIVALS AT SKIPJACK!

Painted Wooden Sailing Ship Weathervane

Skipjack's Marine Art Gallery

Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery was recently selected as one of the 10 Best Art Galleries in Virginia by "Best Things Virginia" website in May 2017. Click here to read the full article. Skipjack was also selected as one of the "10 Best Virginia Art Galleries" by TripAdvisor! Click here to go to TripAdvisor's "Art Galleries in Virginia." Original nautical and marine paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor, bronze and wood sculpture, folk/sailor art, whale & mermaid carvings, prints, tall ships, tugboats, Chesapeake Bay, models, work boats, classic yachts and more!

Nautical Navigational Instruments

Sextants, octants, quadrants, binnacles and compasses- antique, vintage and collectible marine navigational tools and maritime instruments that will help you plot a course and find your way! Perfect for nautical decor for your coastal home too!

NAUTICAL TABLE LAMPS & LIGHTING

Custom nautical table lamps made from vintage and antique nautical lamps and other lighting.

Skipjack's Mariner Hand-tied Nautical Rope Bracelet

The Mariner bracelet is perfect for boaters, surfers, beach goers or anyone that enjoys being in or around the water- quick drying nylon and stainless steel shackle won't rust!

Maritime & Antique Furniture

Since the beginning, Skipjack has become known for producing exceptional nautical furniture using re-purposed ship salvage such as teak grates, hatch covers, ship windows and doors and other old seafaring items into custom home furniture. We stock and produce, coffee tables, end tables, sofa tables, desks, dining and occasional tables, sea chests and chest of drawers, sideboards, huntboards, bars and mirrors.

Marine Clocks & Chronometers

Quality, vintage and antique marine clocks and chronometers made by Chelsea, Seth Thomas, Waltham, Hamilton and other fine makers of clocks and chronometers.

Sailor's Knives & Tools

Our sailor's boating tools category includes everything from antique tools to custom scrimshaw bone handled knives. We offer some of the best with tools, marlinspikes and knives from Myerchin, ACME boatswain pipes and chain lanyards, custom maritime designed scrimshaw knives by Tony Perry and other marine artists and unique sailor's tools for the maritime collector!

Skipjack Nautical Wares For the Home

Skipjack's accessories and decor are designed specifically for decorating your nautical inspired coastal home. Many of our products are custom-made and re-purposed from authentic maritime salvage and of course are limited in production. We also offer great products for entertaining too!

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Blogs of Note

Pages

"Sails & Rigging"

Running free; a square rigger shows her colors in the Parade of Sail at Norfolk's Harborfest. An original Painting by Michael goodwin

The Nautical Sextant

A must-have work for enthusiasts on sextant construction, restoration, repair and adjustment

Ship's Binnacles

We currently have over 15 antique and vintage ships binnacles in stock for you to choose from. Give us a call at (757) 399-5012 or Email @ askus@skipjacknauticalwares.com.

Ocean Marine Yacht Center

Ocean Marine Yacht Center is located just 1/2-mile south of mile marker zero on the Intracoastal Waterway on a 19 1/2 acre site in Portsmouth, Virginia, just 15 minutes from the Norfolk/Virginia Beach International Airport. The new complex features a modern Marina with all of the amenities, an indoor dry storage building, a complete parts department, and for boats of all sizes, a service and repair facility second to none.